Monarch Files: Base 74
by StormBreaker30
Summary: Engineers. Researchers. Thinkers. The cogs that keep the great machine known as Monarch moving. Men and women desperately trying to stay one step ahead of creatures that should by All rights not even exist. An impossible task. My job, My team and a small base in the middle of a rock quarry that's about to become a whole lot more interesting.
1. Chapter 1 - A Personnel Problem

... data-link requested...

... enter ID code...

... LAn88M2...

... ID code accepted...

...data link established...

After waiting several seconds for the familiar connection process to complete the face of one of Monarch's numerous DataSecs (data-analysis secretaries) popped up on the screen. "Hello Liam. Gorgo - I mean Gerald has 17 new maintenance requests for you." Her plastic smile faltered momentarily as she referred to an inside joke among the maintenance department.

Gerald Caven, the senior administrator of the maintenance department of Monarch was originally a die-hard roughneck who would rather spend his time in the guts of a drilling rig then behind a desk. Life unfortunately had other plans. His skill with a wrench was only outpaced by his ability to organize others, so in no time he was running the entire maintenance department of Monarch. Gorgo...heh...it was a term of endearment more than anything.

It referred to his overprotective nature concerning his... babies. Everything from the VTOLs (vertical takeoff and landing vehicles) to the MMPs (mobile maser platforms), even the Argo itself he would fuss over like a doting parent, and if you brought back his equipment with so much as a scratch... his wrath would be equal to that classic movie monster. I sighed..."17? he's kidding right? We haven't had any missions scheduled for months.

Did someone decide to go on a joyride or is this another hanger malfunction?" I leaned back at my desk and ran a hand through my thinning salt an pepper hair. "Jen... can you double check please? I'd rather not have to work overtime again this weekend." Her expression softened for a moment and I could have sworn I saw real emotion behind her eyes before her professionalism reasserted itself. [So she did sympathize? huh.]

Overtime... the two-sided lament of every worker the world over... except... for Monarch. Here overtime was dreaded for an additional reason. For most companies overtime met a few extra hours here and there. Nope, not Monarch. Due to the semi-secret nature of our bases all transports had a set schedule. If you missed your scheduled transport... it wouldn't be till the next cycle (anywhere from two days to a week) when you would you be able to catch another. I waited with my fingers crossed out of sight under the desk as she looked at another monitor.

Her fingers rapidly clicked cross the keyboard as a secondary screen popped up. "Yep... it's 17 all right. Sorry Liam." She frowned. My heart sank. "It's all right. I didn't feel like going home this weekend anyway." I gave a fake laugh, but I swear I could almost feel another patch of hair falling out. "Thanks for the info Jen." With a click of the Esc key the uplink was terminated. Maybe I should have waited for her reply but I wasn't exactly feeling conversational.

I glanced around my office; a sturdy steel desk painted black so oil stains wouldn't show, numerous files vied for space with several odds and ends that I've collected over the years. I picked up one particular piece, turning it over in my hand. An explosive pin used in ejection seats. This particular one did its job flawlessly... but it wasn't enough to save the pilot. A grimace twisted my mouth as I remembered being grilled by the top brass, having to defend myself and my team when they were the ones that sent those pilots into an unwinnable fight. It was last year during the Alpha Incident.

The Argo with a squadron of fighters in-tow was on the run from a flying Kaiju - Class 3. I closed and rubbed my eyes as images from those reports flashed through my mind. 12 pilots, some of which I considered friends. The pin was blackened from explosive residue except for a small silvery chip. investigators thought that chip meant that there had been a structural failure in the pins. No. There was no failure. That chip...was from a tooth.

When the pilot ejected... there was nowhere to go. That monster ate him in one bite. Rodan...or what ever the fuck the researchers named it. I clenched the pin tightly in my hand as I glanced over to a small cork board that hung next to a row of filing cabinets. On it were the 24 M.U.T.O.s that were currently known. Several of them were circled with red marker with tally marks below them.

My eyes narrowed as I looked below the circled image of Rodan... there weren't tally marks... just a simple red square. That particular mark was reserved for Kaiju that had claimed over 100 lives. I suddenly noticed that my hand was hurting. Glancing down I saw that I was white knuckling the pin. I took a deep breath and sighed. If I was going to do my job right I needed a level head. Closing my eyes I started counting and visualizing the meditation techniques that the on site shrink had prescribed.

Dozens of schematics flashed through my mind, each one more complex than the last. Finally I got the last one... that same pin. "It did its job and so did you." I repeated that mantra 3 times and took another breath, exhaling slowly. I set the pin back down on the desk, glancing one more time at the offending image. [The best tech that our guys can come up with can't do more than piss them off, for now. Someday. We'll find something that can take them down. When that day comes... I hope you're the first one you damned buzzard.]

I shifted my focus over to my terminal and after navigating a few menus brought up the latest requisition email. "17." I muttered under my breath. [At least it'll be a good distraction.]

... Repair Requisitions...

...RE: D.O.I.A.(department of international affairs - URGENT...

... 17 requisitions pending...

...4 - R.U.A.V.s (remote unmanned aerial vehicles - ext. heat/rad...

...2 - Amph. Transp. - ext. heat/rad...

...1 - Multi. Command V. - ext. heat/rad...

...10 - A.H.T.V.s (all hazardous terrain vehicles - ext. heat/rad...

...LOC: Base MU (initials refer to a mythical island similar to Atlantis)

"Woah" I exclaimed. Direct from the D.O.I.A.? Must be serious if it came from them." My eyes scanned down the list of requisitions. [Interesting.] All of them suffered from extreme heat and radiation damage. [Base MU? I didn't think they were able to go in there just yet. When Dr. Serizawa made his way into that literal hell hole to feed Godzilla a nuclear packed lunch they'd gotten some great readings from inside the cavern... and then it got blown up. Neat.

I never met the man myself, but he was highly respected... a living legend if you will... at least he was. Now? He's a martyr. A hero who gave his life to give us a fighting chance. What a waste. I know we needed the big lizard, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Reading further into the files I noticed something, the mission timestamps. Prior testing indicated but the minimum safe time in that area was roughly 15-20 minutes. Anything after that equipment would start to break down and their protective gear would start to melt.

"This can't be right. No one in their right mind would be that reckless." The timestamps ranged from 25-32 minutes. That included manned vehicles. [The brass must have gone crazy to push this far.] Yep. There was no mistake. The safety codes had been overridden, not once but multiple times. Those codes were designed to automatically redirect the vehicles back to an area of lower radiation in case of danger. [Those bastards!] I stopped to take a few deep breaths.

[Do those idiots have any idea how close they came to a complete system failure?] Another minute or two and the cockpits would have breached... and from the looks of it one of them did. I narrowed my eyes and let out a dismissive snort. Typical. With the recent lull in Kaiju activity the higher-ups have been trying to find something to justify our budget. No activity means the UN will think we can make do with a lower amount. I can understand the reason, but you would think that they would appreciate not having Kaiju run amok.

Scrolling through the files I came across something of interest; Research Notes. 47 pages of them. [Holy crap! No wonder they kept them down there so long!] I had to see what was so important to risk so much damage as well as personel.


	2. Chapter 2 - Pushing the Envelope

... Access Research Notes...

... Access Restricted...

... Enter ID Code...

... LAn88M2...

... ID code accepted...

... Access Granted...

Quickly reading through the file names, I ignored the ones pertaining to paleontology or archaeology as those were not my specialty. 8 of them stood out to me.

...RN 1-7 Intact Antechamber...

...RN 1-8 Energy Barrier...

...RN 1-9 Mural...

...RN 2-2 Conductive Hieroglyphics...

...RN 2-3 Distribution Crystals...

...RN 3-1 Stone Age Reactor...

...RN 3-10 Vehicles...

...RN 3-14 Frozen Remains...

My jaw dropped and I'm not sure how long I stayed that way. I shook my head and blinked a few times to make sure my vision wasn't playing tricks on me. [This must be a joke. The research team was playing a prank on us. It has to be. These file names sound like something straight out of science fiction. Even so... I had to know for sure. I clicked on the first one of significance: RN 1-7 Intact Antechamber. That file was the first indication that there was something interesting here. After the detonation of that nuclear device the main chamber was destroyed as far as we knew.

What wasn't blown away in the blast was further damaged by the inrush of seawater when the pressure was disrupted. According to this file the antechamber in question was on the far wall, and took the least amount of damage. [That doesn't make sense.] Even being that far away it would have still felt the effects of the nuke. Heck, the pressure wave alone was strong enough to buckle the underside of the research submersible after funneling up from the sea trench.

The file went on to state that the material that composed the archway of the antechamber was extremely durable. It appeared to be a type of marble that was laced with some kind of blue impurity. several samples were taken and testing was done on site. the material measured about 8 Mohs which is much harder than natural marbles score of 3. What's more is the impurities appear to be organic in nature and show startling similarities to tissue samples taken from Godzilla. Incredible. If adding his cells to marble increased their durability by that much what would happen if you added it to another inorganic material like metal?

I brought up the next file: RN 1-8 Energy Barrier. [Energy... Barrier? What is this? A Star Trek joke?] I read the file half expecting to find April fool's written at the very end. When that didn't happen I read it again. The reason that the antechamber was undamaged wasn't just the material itself... there was something enveloping the archway like an invisible door. it resisted all testing devices and even explosives had no effect. Dr. Chen analyzed a mural that could be seen on the wall inside the antechamber (See file 1-9) and tried entering the barrier herself. It worked.

The barrier parted around her and rippled like water as she passed through it. As she cleared the barrier it resealed behind her. Her suit indicated a lack of water and a breathable atmosphere within the antechamber and she removed her helmet and gloves. Impossibly the radiation badge she wore turned green. The barrier had sealed out the intense radiation that had saturated the entire area. Even their best anti-radiation materials couldn't hope to stand up the those levels for long, yet there she was. Unharmed. [Was it some sort of high powered magnetic field?]

Like a dog with a bone I eagerly moved on the the next file: RN 1-9 Mural. This one was not on my list of interests except for the reference from the previous file. The mural in question was quite intricate and could easily keep even the most seasoned archaeologists busy for decades. What did interest me where the implications stated in their findings. The mural appeared to show an adolescent Godzilla... living within the city. In fact... the mural seem to indicate that the city was built... to provide for Godzilla. It seemed to show a rough timeline, beginning with the city being built around a colossal egg. From there it seemed that the original inhabitants of the city found a way to tap the egg for power and used it achieve an incredible level of advancement.

Upon hatching the city's inhabitants found a way to befriend Godzilla. They fed and raised him. The last few scenes in the mural seem to show the city under attack and suffering from some sort of natural disaster. however the section depicting what was responsible had been damaged. [Probably for the best. The last thing we need is another wild goose chase.] it could have been another Kaiju. The last officially documented kaiju had been Behemoth. The higher-ups had saved him and Methuselah for last among the new ones that appeared after the Godzilla/King Ghidorah showdown. It was assumed that those two were relatively peaceful considering their sluggish nature, and they were right... for the most part.

You'd be surprised how hard it is to study something that doesn't generally move around a lot. Researchers were only able to study Behemoth's anatomy while it was active. When dormant it would bury itself halfway in the ground to where only it's mountain like carapace was sticking out. Taking samples was relatively easy as the creature didn't have it any significant nerve endings to speak of in that area, however someone had the brilliant idea of trying to use a core sample driller to get a cross section of said carapace.

The drilling actually went smoothly until it reached the half kilometer mark. Apparently after that layer there are nerve endings. Being of a substantial size and not having any objects around that it could possibly scratch up against to remove the irritation it did the logical thing... rolling over to scratch the irritation off against the ground. Most of the team were able to take shelter in natural crevices along its back, but 4 researchers and 7 support crew weren't as lucky. From then on policy was changed pertaining to any research being done on Methuselah to include a constantly on standby airlift and self-contained drilling rigs if any samples of that nature were required in the future.

Moving on to the next research note, RN 2-2 Conductive Hieroglyphics. This particular discovery was completely by accident. As Dr. Chen was cleaning the mural to get a more complete view she absently brushed her hand across part of it and triggered some sort of reaction. When her skin made contact with the writing on the mural the pigments used for the writing began to glow a light blue and spread from the point of contact in slowly increasing concentric circles. As soon as she removed her hand the glowing begin to dissipate.

Working up her courage she placed her hand fully on the mural and the reaction was startling. The entire written portion of the mural began to glow much brighter than before. In mere moments it was bright enough that artificial illumination was no longer required for the antechamber. The researchers gawked in awe. While conductive writing mediums weren't necessarily a new thing, to have one that only required the slightest charge, such as the static electricity from a slight touch was entirely new territory.

Once the glow reached the outline of the mural it continued to expand in a latticework pattern all across the antechamber. Eventually the glowing lines of energy converged onto a single point on the wall facing the entrance. That point resembled an abstract image of a human hand with a spiral pattern in the middle of the palm. Putting two and two together Dr. Chen did as she had on the mural and placed her hand on the image. The antechamber began to shake and dust rained down from the ceiling. A grinding noise began to permeate the chamber as sections of the wall began to slide apart and rearranged to form an opening.

It was a doorway, large enough for a few individuals to enter side by side. The research team raised concerns that they would only be able to bring minor equipment through the opening. Radiation damage of the support vehicles was brought up but was quickly dismissed. [Of course it was.] Their reasoning was that if they needed to evacuate quickly that the vehicles needed to stay near by. [That was true.] So that's where the overrides were issued.

On the other side of the doorway was a fairly large chamber, not quite as large as the main chamber but still impressive. Comparing images of the main chamber before it was destroyed this one showed a lesser degree of focus on aesthetics and more on functionality. It looked almost industrial; if you can call structures that existed before the pyramids industrial. At regular intervals around the chamber were arranged large multi colored crystals. RN 2-3 Distribution Crystals was the next file header.

Multispectral imaging revealed that the lines of energy that appeared throughout the chamber concentrated at those crystals and transmitted it over some sort of invisible wavelengths too each other. [This is beyond incredible. Some sort of advanced energy concentration and wireless transmission capability! Just think of what we create with that kind of power setup.] My mind raced with new possibilities as I clicked on the next file.

RN 3-1 Stone Age Reactor...[Huh?]. A reactor? They probably meant a collector. With all the ambient thermal and radioactive energy at that location it wouldn't be too difficult to harvest all that raw energy...I was mistaken. The images of the very center of the chamber looked very familiar, eerily so. They were nearly identical to some of our containment setups for non-mobile Kaiju except for one key detail. it appears that they were at one point drawing energy from the containment chamber.

The container in question appeared to be roughly ovoid in structure, similar to an egg...an...egg?! Scrolling back through the files I brought up the one for the mural and let out a very audible WTF. That egg...was Godzilla's. I pushed back from the desk and rubbed my temples for a moment. This particular file had some long reaching implications. If this culture did indeed raise Godzilla no doubt they would have vast amounts of information on his anatomy, but also his behavior and psychology. As of now he's an uneasy ally, but with that kind of information he could actually be a friend to mankind. [Pffssssss] I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of that thought... what's next... a friend to children?

I chuckled a bit more as i fetched a cola from a minifridge under the desk and took a sip before accessing the next file. RN 3-10 Vehicles. Interesting. So the ancients did have self-propelled vehicles. Not surprising considering their level of sophistication. The vehicles in question differed quite a bit from modern transportation. For the most part they resembled real creatures in as much as base structure and the fact that they had actual limbs as opposed to wheels. the most common vehicle found appeared to be some sort of quadroped that appeared to be modeled after a small sauropod. Many other vehicles were also modeled after prehistoric creatures though some were a bit more modern. One of the more complete examples appear to be a large tiger and yet another was similar to an elephant or Mastodon.

There were also some modeled after arthropods and a few winged examples that appeared similar to a dragonfly. Many of the invisible beams of energy seem to terminate at these vehicles; specifically at points on them that appeared to be a cross between a receiving dish and a microwave coil. [Some sort of charging station?]. The research team was already nicknaming them strutters (seemingly based on the strut-like skeletal support structure beneath their armor) apparently as well as giving them individual designations.

... Vehicle "Strutter" Designations...

RBOZ-001 - sauropod-type

Well over 1/4 of all the examples found were of this type. Probably a common transport vehicle. Contains a cockpit-like control center in the head beneath a removable orange canopy. A second passenger section extended roughly half the main body along with a cargo section and lifting crane.

RZ-041 - tiger-type

3 variations found so far. A black version that appears to be a prototype as it lacks the ablative armor of the other 2. The second varient was blue with several weapon systems. Finally the 3rd was red and seemed more streamlined.

EZ-038 - elephant-type

A large black and purple type with heavy reinforcement and a manipulator at the tip of the "trunk".

EZ-061 - crab-type

a red type that seems be for cargo transfer due to its large claws.

GZB-003 - dragonfly-type

A small type lacking a canopy to protect the pilot. It seems as though the control setup requires someone to lay on the top on a slight depression and grip 2 flightstick-like controls.

There was 2 full pages of various types found so far, but what caught me eye was 2 in particular. A small catapillar-type that resembled the larvae stage of a class-2 Kaiju that was named Mothra and a much larger tyrannosaur-type. It was possibly modled after Godzilla except it had pitch black armor with a dark green understructure. If some of them were indeed based on existing Kaiju then that meant that some of these creatures could be far older than we ever imagined.

With some trepidation [completely warranted] i clicked the last file...RN 3-14 Frozen Remains.


End file.
